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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (April 26, 2006)
Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, April 26,2006 - SEVEN - Letters to the Editor ~ The Heppner Gazette Times will print all letters to the Editor with the following criteria met: letters submitted to the newspaper will need to have the name of the sender along with a legible signature. We are also requesting that you provide your address and a phone number where you can be reached. The address and phone number will only be used for verification and will not be printed in the new spaper. Letters may not be libelous. The GT reserves the right to edit. The GT is not responsible for accuracy o f statem ents made in letters. Any letters expressing thanks will be placed in the classifieds under "Card o f Thanks" at a cost of $10. Caution should be taken when looking at speedway To the Editor: L et’s approach the “speedway” proposal with a w ord o f c au tio n . Every p ro m o ter of any d ev elo p m en t o f this magnitude will only supply facts to support his proposal. B efore m aking a commitment to this gigantic p ro p o sal and w ishful endeavor, let us also examine the possible negative effects. If I were as sure of this under taking as the prom oters, I would make every effort to buy or take options on every piece of property available in south Morrow County. We have an economic depression in our end of the county, which would greatly benefit from this growth at the north end. I would only hope that any grow th and developm ent would also benefit all of the Willow Creek Valley. A n o t h e r consideration would be the noise factor, which would probably not affect us, but for fa m ilies east o f the “speedw ay” it could be a huge problem. Having racecars and motorcycles blasting away day and night for most of the year, w ould not be conducive to a peaceful neighborhood. So, let’s have a word of caution and be informed of the draw backs o f this endeavor. (s) Archie Padberg Heppner Experience and make Spicer right forjudge To the Editor: As a former district atto rn ey , Ann S p icer understands the need for a ju d g e to insure that sentencing guidelines are followed and that society is p ro te c ted from h abitual criminals. As a judge she will review criminal cases and plea bargains to see that the punishment fits the crime. When the situation calls for it, she will have the courage to keep the offender behind bars. P lease vote for person who has proven she can be tough on crime, vote for Ann Spicer for Circuit Judge. (s) Florene Robinson Heppner LEXINGTON AUTO BODY IS NOT AFFILIATED WITH LOOSLIE AUTO BODY. Lexington A uto B ody is doing A uto B ody R epair, G lass R epair an d R eplacem ent, an d Towing. Ken Grieb M orrow C o u n ty C o m m is s io n e r “Working fo r ALL o f Morrow County” Current DA supports Elizabeth Ballard’s candidacy To the Editor: It is a pleasure to write this letter of support for E lizab eth B allard as M orrow C ounty D istrict Attorney. During her more than three years of service as M orrow C ounty D eputy District Attorney, Elizabeth has proven herself to be a highly skilled and effective p ro secu to r. E liza b e th is always prepared and up to date on recent developments in the law. She has fostered credibility with all o f the judges she appears before on behalf of Morrow County. I b e lie v e she is the c le a r candidate to succeed me as district attorney. One candidate for district attorney has said they would “take control of these agencies.” This statement underlines a fundamental lack of understanding about the process. The district attorney is not a dictator. Rather, an effective district attorney w orks w ith law e n fo rc em en t a g en cies, developing a team approach to fighting crime. On a daily basis, the district attorney’s o ffice w orks w ith rep resen tativ es from the M orrow County S heriff’s D epartm ent, the C ity of B oardm an P olice D ep artm en t, M orrow C o u n ty Ju v en ile D ep artm en t, M orrow County Behavioral Health and parole and probation. The fact that representatives from all of th ese organizations have endorsed Elizabeth speaks highly of her ability to foster effective p a rtn e rsh ip s in fig h tin g crim e. I doubt seriously w h eth er the o th e r tw o c a n d id a te s w ould be as effective in working with local law enforcement. The e n d o rsem e n ts speak for themselves. P erh ap s m ost im p o rtan t, E liza b e th is fa m ilia r w ith M orrow C o u n ty ’s c u rre n t law enforcement problems and available resources. Some have said this office is not doing enough to combat the raging m etham phetam ine epidemic. Nothing could be further from the truth. This office routinely prosecutes cases that m any o th e r counties do not. These so called “residue” drug cases are regularly prosecuted when there is any detectable am ount o f c o n tro lle d su b stan ces found. Many counties in Oregon do not have sufficient resources to prosecute such crimes. In Morrow County, if you are found with any detectable amount of drugs you go to jail right then and there. Unfortunately, with only 11 jail beds available. Morrow County cannot keep every drug addict in jail. Further, O re g o n ’s sen ten cin g g u id e lin e s p rescrib e a probationary sentence for m ost drug o ffen ses. In reality, many of these drug o ffe n d e rs do spend significant time in jail when they are unable to successfully complete their probation. It is easy to say you are going to “wipe out” methamphetamine, however, I am not aware of any county in Am erica that has been successful in eliminating this sco u rg e from th eir communities. Unfortunately, m eth is a n atio n w id e problem that will require statewide and nationwide so lu tio n s, such as the recently introduced meth bills in the Oregon legislature and U.S. Congress. Please jo in me in voting for Elizabeth Ballard as the next Morrow County District Attorney. She is the right choice for continued strong prosecution o f all crimes in Morrow County (s) David C. Allen Morrow County District Attorney Heppner Leadership for Morrow County Paid for by Elect Grieb Committee Voting no, w ould actually open the door for developers w ho actually have the monetary means to build this track as a stand alone venture as it was sold to the p u b lic in the beginning. Putting Morrow C o u n ty ’s good nam e on bonds that may become junk bonds down the road is risky business. Just ask Seattle. As you know everything is open to litigation and lawsuits. Their bond rating dropped so low after the monorail project, voters wanted to put government officials across the rails and wait for any train to com e. Som eone alw ay s pays w hen c o rp o ra tio n s d efau lt on bonds. R em em ber the W H O O PS Bonds? Safe, publicly secured bonds. Do you remember who paid for them when they moth-balled the plants. You did. Whoops. Morrow County don’t get sucked into this. Let the wealthy race team owner, his rich baseball friend and their motor sport investor’s pay their own way. D on’t let them leach o ff M orrow County while they line their own pockets. Let someone in here to do this right or we will be sorry. P S . Shame on the Yes committee for using the good nam es o f these politicians and businesses under false pretences. Shame on these p o litic ia n s and businesses who don’t even live, or vote, in our county for letting them use these letters. (s) Mary Reade Boardman Youth and communication skills make Grieb right as commissioner Spicer’s idea of more accessible court good for the public & 2000 Ken Grieb To the Editor: I recently clicked on the w w w .yesm cs.com website and was surprised to read the form letters signed by Pendleton Pepsi Bottling, Three Mile Farms, R.D.O. John D eer E q u ip m en t, T id ew ater, T illam o o k , Potlatch, Rinker Materials, Swire Coke and Blue Cross. Hoping to gain some insight into why people would vote for this, I read on. These people are not in favor of the Excise Tax District. They are looking to cash in on the perks offered if they join in on the initial stages of the “ speedw ay p ro je c t” like e x clu siv e prem ium opportunities and discounts to marketing packages, sky boxes, VIP garage suites, sig n ag e o p p o rtu n itie s, utilizing golf and recreation facilities, reduced rates on services, naming rights to special events and of course m em b ersh ip b en efits. Included in the signing of the letter, come inception rights into the Lewis and Clark Founders Circle (reserved exclusively for those who will sign on as supporters, known to the rabbit as, a carrot). In not one letter from and including the letters from the Governor, Senator, Mayor or anyone else did 1 find that they are in favor of the Excise Tax. D on’t be fooled by who is in favor of the track and who is in favor of the Sales Tax and why that is. No politician or business in O regon w ants to be co n n ected w ith more g o v ern m en t tax in g , especially for private gain. To the Editor: le ad e rsh ip and We are w riting to communication skills. urge Morrow County voter We think Ken will support for Ken Grieb for make an excellent addition to county commissioner. county government. He will Ken is a successful bring a perspective from a agri-businessm an with a younger generation that will proven record of being able be a valuable asset in terms to work with people to reach of long term planning for the satisfactory decisions. Health District sees speedway as county and im proved Ken has served on communication with county positive impact on county several co m m ittees and residents. boards within the county and P lease jo in us in To the Editor: was president of the Oregon voting for Ken Grieb for T he v o ters o f w ould be fa r-rea c h in g , W heat G row ers League county commissioner. M orrow C ounty have an creating jobs and growth w here he has honed his (s) Larry and Betty Mills opportunity on May 16 to throughout the county- a Heppner make a positive impact on p o sitiv e retu rn w ithout our county’s economic well p ro p erty tax im pact on Integrity makes Spicer best person being. Morrow County residents. forjudge A Yes vote to the best. Going to court can We strongly support support an excise tax within a Yes vote on B allot To the Editor: be a traumatic experience. the S peedw ay A ctiv ity Measure 25-45. The person who is Ann will treat each person D is tric t’s b o u n d a rie s is (s) Morrow County Health the best for circuit judge she deals with in court with essential to move economic District position five is Ann Spicer. integrity while making sure growth here forward. The Board of Directors As an attorney, she is very that the law is correctly im pact o f the Speedw ay concerned with providing applied. her clients the best service Vote for Ann Spicer possible. She will be the for Circuit Judge. same as a judge, wanting to (s) Rosemary Bums provide the public with only Heppner • Morrow County Grain Growers' Board • Morrow County Wheat Growers’ President 1999 • Oregon Wheat Growers’ League President 2003 • Morrow County Soil & Water Conservation District 1998- Present • Morrow County Planning Commission 1997-Present • Morrow County School District Advisory Committee 1999- 2003 • Lobby wheat issues at State and National level • SMART reading volunteer, Heppner Elementary School • Oregon Wheat Foundation Board • lone Community Agri-Business Organization • North Morrow Vector Control District • National Association of Wheat Growers’ Budget Com mittee • Morrow County School District Ag Science Advisory Committee • OSU Extension Advisory Committee • Morrow County Pre-Disaster Mitigation Committee Make developer pay his own way, don’t support the excise tax w CfctÀ Lo&üet- To the Editor: We would like to join other residents of Morrow County to add our support to Annetta Spicer for District 6 C ircu it C ourt Judge, Position 5. It is always nice to have a local person rep re se n tin g and understanding your interest on the co u rt. Ann has d em o n strated honesty, fairness and what we would c o n sid e r a ju d ic ia l tem peram ent. We believe Ann’s idea of a court more accessible to the public is good. P lease jo in us in voting for Annetta Spicer, (s) Nancy and Victor Vander Does Heppner ODFW to hold public meetings Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife will be holding public meetings in Heppner and Fossil to discuss the 2006 hunting season tag recommendations. The first meeting will be on Wednesday, May 3 starting at 7 p.m. at the Heppner ODFW' office. The office is located in the old Kinzua mill office at 54173 Highway 74. The second meeting will be on Thursday, May 4, starting at 7 p.m., at the Fossil Community Center. 401 4lh Street. All 2006 hunting season proposed tag numbers will be available. People are encouraged to stop by and visit with the biologists concerning any wildlife questions they may have. \
